The present invention relates generally to antennae and more particularly, to stripline and microstrip antennae.
Two types of antennae are presently in use in conformal arrays: the stripline slot and the microstrip patch. The stripline slot antenna is inherently unstable in those applications where exposure to environmental stresses such as diurnal variations in the ambient temperature cause changes in the dimensions of the slot or cavity. The microstrip patch antenna has unshielded feed lines that tend to radiate and couple with other feed lines and radiators mounted on the same circuit board, unpredictably influencing radiation patterns and impedance characteristics.
The noun "stripline," as used here, is a contraction of the phrase "strip type transmission line", a transmission line formed by a conductor above or between extended conducting surfaces. A shielded strip-type transmission line denotes generally, a strip conductor between two ground planes. The noun "groundplane" denotes a conducting or reflecting plane functioning to image a radiating structure.